Apparently Women Live Longer If They Are Surrounded By Plants

by: Well Made Clothes Staff |
2 years ago
| News

Image: preferably in this house, aka the Shell Villa. You know how you thought your compulsion to keep buying ferns was about asserting control over the fact that you will be renting forever? Or maybe because you selflessly wanted to see if you were responsible enough to keep another living thing alive? Possibly because, in a broken economy with high youth unemployment, plants help you feel like you’ve successfully grown-up? Wrong! It’s because you care about your own survival! Selfish AND brave! It’s the millennial way!

There’s nothing quite like a study that makes us feel better about ourselves, especially when we are able to feel better about ourselves for doing something we’ve already done! Turns out that the fig leaf that your cat loves to tip over, and your flatmate hates to water, is actually helping you live longer. A study completed last year by Harvard (so you know it’s legit af) showed that over an 8 year period, there were fewer deaths among women who “lived in the greenest surroundings – their mortality rate was 12% lower than those living in homes in the least green areas.”

Yes, sure, it’s not particularly surprising that plants help keep us alive – read: the fundamentals of nature and our ability to breathe clean air – but the study has suggested that there are some more nuanced factors at play, citing “the link between greenness and mortality rates. Improved mental health, measured through lower levels of depression, was estimated to explain nearly 30% of the benefit from living around greater vegetation. Increased opportunities for social engagement."

Not sure what the “increased opportunities for social engagement” is referring to? Like, plant parties? Where you show everyone your plants? Not sure anyone would want to come to that?

Anyway, read the study! It’s interesting and will justify bringing home yet another succulent in an overpriced ceramic pot! Everyone wins!